Anti-Islam rallies have taken place across Australia, organized by the Reclaim Australia group. Police were forced to intervene in Melbourne as clashes broke out between anti-Islam and anti-racism protesters, with thousands attending the demonstrations.

The Reclaim Australia community group, who organized protests in
16 cities and towns across the country, was protesting against
Sharia law, halal and Islamization. They faced counter
demonstrations from a left-wing umbrella group called No Room for
Racism. Some of the worst violence occurred in Federation Square
in Melbourne, where police tried to keep anti-Islam and
anti-racism protesters apart.

A spokesman for the Victoria state ambulance service said that
four people were treated for minor injuries, while police
spokeswoman Belinda Betty said two men and a woman were arrested
following the violence. More than 100 police were deployed with
almost a dozen mounted police also helping to keep the situation
under control.

The Reclaim Australia group has faced claims by opponents that
they are a racist organization. However, John Oliver, who
organized the anti-Islam rallies say the group is just looking
out for the interests of ordinary Australians.

"I know in Sydney and Melbourne they've got Muslims already
signed on to attend because they can see what's happening and
they don't like what's happening," Oliver said, speaking to
the Australian state broadcaster ABC.

Another protester, John Bolton, said the Reclaim Australia group
was opposed to extremism, but not Muslims in the wider community.

"What I'm not against is ordinary Australian people who
happen to be Muslims who follow their faith, they don't need
anybody's permission provided they comply with the Australian
civil and criminal law and want to comply with our
constitution," Bolton added, according to ABC.

The organizer of the anti-racist demonstration, Mel Gregson, said
Reclaim Australia was gaining support by spreading
“conspiracy theories,” as well as “implicating good
Muslim people in the political movements of a tiny
minority,” in regards to extremists who have joined the
so-called Islamic State.

Gregson added that the left-wing umbrella organization had
decided to hold its rally at Federation Square, to oppose
directly the message being espoused by Reclaim Australia.

"We're not interested in holding our rally somewhere else and
talking to people who already agree that racism is a bad thing —
the vast majority of people in Australia agree with us on
that," she said.

"What we're trying to say is that this is dangerous to allow
hate speech to occur on the streets of Melbourne."

It's kinda ironic that protests about Islam apparently taking
over Australia are on a weekend that's shut down for a
different religion.

Tensions between Australians and Muslims have been rising over
the last six months. Australian police launched a series of
anti-terrorism raids in September. There was a backlash against
the Islamic community in Australia following a siege by an
Iranian born Muslim man in Sydney last December, which left three
people dead and four injured.

A survey conducted by the University of Queensland at the start
of 2015 said that as many as 75 percent of Australians Muslims
believe they are unfairly targeted by anti-terrorism laws. Terror
laws were again tightened after an 18 year-old man, who
reportedly supported the terrorist organization the Islamic
State, was shot dead after stabbing two police officers in
Melbourne.